Illuminated mirror door



May 7, 1957 J. P. MORRISON 2,791,675

ILLUMINATED MIRROR DOOR Filed May 19, 1955 BYmn/Ml ILLUMINATED MIRROR DOOR Joseph P. Morrison, Ithaca, N. Y. Application May 19, 1955, Serial No. 509,467

3 Claims. (Cl. 24U-4.1)

This invention relates to the lighting of bathrooms, both as regards the room as a whole and also the particular lighting of a face as seen in the mirror of the cabinet that is usually placed over the lavatory. The objects of the invention are to illuminate the room more eciently and at less cost, with the strongest light downward on the lavatory, :also to provide a second strong light upward on the wall and ceiling so as to create a pleasant diifused light all over the room, and nally to give a special illumination from the two sources combined, so arranged and modied as to produce a clear reilection of the `face 4in the mirror without glare in the eyes, whereby the face can be easily seen and its details examined without eye strain. The device can also be used in other places if desired, such as over dressing tables and in other rooms in the house.

The device relates particularly to the door of a cabinet; and in new cabinets it may be manufactured as a part thereof. But it also can be made as a separate door which can be easily mounted over the mirror of an old cabinet already installed so as to modernize the same without removing it from the wall. The structure also has an ornamental decorative value since it is neat, in good taste, without extraneous mechanical or accessory elements, and is so adapted to tit in with any style of decoration. All the parts are readily accessible for repair, and the lights can be readily replaced when they wear out.

Referring now to the drawings forming part of this specication,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation view showing the improved structure for a bathroom cabinet door.

Fig. 2 is a view looking upward from below the cabinet, showing the light source and reflectors behind the mirror; and a view looking down on the top of the cabinet from above would be similar-the lighting means being at the top and bottom of the cabinet.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts thruout the various views.

Referring now to Fig. l and Fig. 2, the cabinet door frame 1 carries on its front face a mirror 2 which is silvered in its central portion to form a reilecting surface and is also provided with a frosted glass border 3 along its four sides, which border is capable of transmitting a diffused light so yas to illuminate the face but not glare in the eyes. This rectangular border of frosted glass 3 is wider in the top and bottom horizontal portions 3' and 3 while narrower in the vertical side portions 3. There are no electric lights directly behind the side portions 3', though there are such lights behind the horizontal frosted portions 3 and 3 as shown best in Fig. 2. The light bulb or tube 5 is located near the top and another light bulb or tube 5' is placed near Jthe bottom. It has been customary to place exposed lights around mirrors, but their glare has made it diilicult to see clearly in the mirror. in other cases lights have been placed behind frosted areas in mirrors, but at the sides or all the way around. That also has been found to strain the eyes, since the light is then rather close and comes from a direction States Patent O not protected by the eyelashes. In the present device the lights behind the frosted portions are located at the top and bottom only, not on the sides. The side bands 3 are to some extent illuminated by the rays from the lights 5 and 5', though in a milder manner than the bands 3 and 3, since the side brands 3 are at a greater distance.

The clarity with which an object can be seen is not necessarily increased by increasing the strength of the light, since if the increased light also falls directly on the eye the pupil will be contracted and the person be more 'dazzled than helped. Experiments with the arrangement above described have shown it to be the best for seeing the face, since it tends to produce anY overall illumination with -a minimum of counter-glare on the eyes.

The light tubes 5 and 5' may be provided with individual switches or preferably with a combined switch near the base so that either light may be turned on separately or both at the same time. The back 7 of the frame 1 may entirely cover the rea-r portion of the door, but it is generally preferable to have the back 7 only partially cover the rear of the door so as to leave enough of the lighting tubes 5 and 5 exposed so that they can illuminate the interior of the'cabinet, and also to facilitate the replacement of the lighting tubes when they burn out.

Inside the door Iare reflecting surfaces 8 at suitable angles, preferably forming a diamond shaped rellector with its points midway of each side as shown in broken lines in Fig. l; and near the rellectors 8 are further oblique reflectors 9 to throw the light from the surfaces 8 forward thru the frosted glass. Exterior side panels 10 are provided at the right and left of the main mirror, Iand these panels may be mirrors mounted obliquely or may be made of other material. Their function is largely decorative though they are to a certain extent useful for multiple reflections in conjunction with a hand mirror.

The device in general forms a combination illuminating door and mirror which can be used in place of ordinary light fixtures for the room and at the same time provide unusually good reflections for the face. In new construction or when sold as a complete cabinet, there is provided behind it the usual cabinet box and shelves` (not shown) as in :a medicine cabinet for example. When made las a door only, the frame 1 is provided with hooks 12 which can hook over the top of an ordinary mirror door such as found on most bath room cabinets, so that an ordinary cabinet can be converte-d to an improved mirror cabinet without removing the old one. Permanent bolts or screws may be used in place of the hooks 12 if desired.

The whole structure is little if any more expensive than the old types, if the ladditional cost of lights used in the past is taken into consideration. In many bathrooms the room lights have to be switched on and later lights at the mirror need to be turned on. In the present device .such extra wiring is eliminated since the combination here used lights both the room and the mirror. The illumination of the face from the top :and bottom thru the frosted glass with Idiminished gradations in the side panels toward the middle make it unnecessary to shade the eyes when examining the farce closely.

While I have ni the foregoing described a certain specific form by way of example, it will be understood that it is merely for the purpose of illustration to make clear the principles of the invention, which is not limited to the particular form shown but is susceptible to various modifications and -adaptations in different installations Ias will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the `scope of the invention as stated in the following claims.

l claim:

l. In :a combined mirror cabinet door and room light, the combination of a frame, side panels on said frame, a main mirror mounted on said frame between the side panels, said mirror being silvered so as to be opaque to light from therear except for a border framing the central portion of the mirror, which border is without opaque backing and consists of frosted glass adapted to transmit a diffused light, the upper and lower horizontal portions of said frosted border frame being wider than the vertical portions comprising the sides of said frosted border, electric lights behind the horizontal frosted transmitting portions of the mirror near the top and bottom of the door so' that. theprincipal light passes directly thru said upper and lower horizontal portions so as to give a strong direct diifused illumination from; above and below to a face beiore the mirror. and whereby only a diminished.r light intensity reaches the verticalv side portions of the frosted border so as' not to dazzle the eye, the upper and lower portion -of said door being open behind the main mirror so that the electric lights behind the` frosted transmitting portions can also throw direct light upward and downward to illuminate a room, whereby the mirror may be illuminatedV for close inspection and the roomlighted from above and below.

.2. ln 4an illuminatingv mirror for lighting up a face beforethe mirror without lateral glare to the eyes,I the combination ot a frame, a. main mirror mounted on said frame, a top light mounted abovey the mirror so that it may throw light forward and downward on the face, a bottom light mounted below the mirror so that it may throw light forward and upward on the face, a transluscent border` portion above the mirror for transmitting direct Idiilused illumination downward on the face from the top light, a transluscent border portion below the mirror for transmitting direct diffused illumination. upward on the face from the bottom light', the principal illumination thus being from above and below the face with relatively little light laterally so as to avoid side glare, the reecting portion of the mirror itself being opaque to light, said frame being open at the top and bottom so that the top light may also illuminate the upper portion of a room in which it is mounted and the bottom light may `also illuminate objects below the mirror.

3. In an illuminated mirror for lighting up a face before the mirror without lateral glare to the eyes, the combination of la frame, a main mirror mounted on said frame, a top light mounted above the mirror so that it may throw light forward and downward on the face, a bottom light mounted below the mirror so that it may throw light forwardl :and upward: `ont the face, a transluscent border portion Iabove the mirror for transmitting direct diffused illumination downward on the face from the top light, a transluscent border portion below the mirror for transmittingdirect. diffused illumination upwardyon the, facefrom, the bottom light, supplementary transluscent sidel bordersY adjacent. the mirror, said sid'e borders transmitting only indirect reilected light to a lesser degree than the top andtbtottom transluscent portions, thev principal illumination thusbeing from above and below the, face with relatively little light laterally so as toavoi'd, side glare, the. reliecting portion of the mirror itself beingopaque to light, said frame being open at the top-and. bottom so that the top light may also illuminate the upper portionot the room in which it is mounted and the bottom light, may lalso illuminate; objects below the mirror.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,593,246 13e-Haven ,Juiy 20, 1926 l,76t8,(il3 Finer June 24, 1930 2,529,713v Thurston Nov. 14, 1950 

